Reed raced to their third consecutive victory as they overcame Old Albanian by four wickets on Saturday, lifting them to 6th in Saracens Herts League Division 2.

On a dank, overcast afternoon, Reed were fortunate to win the toss, and elected to field, in an attempt to exploit the damp wicket to its fullest. This proved to be an excellent decision as Andrew Emms (9-2-16-1) made an initial breakthrough and saw many of his deliveries darting violently off the seam. Reed legend, Peter Tidey, returning from a nasty muscle tear the week before battled up the hill throughout the innings to return one of his best performances this season of 7 wickets for 73 runs. Even with a slight recurrence of his injury, the stalwart endured the pain barrier to register his second 7 wicket haul of the season. He was ably assisted by 3 catches by Chris Jackson and a stunning low catch by Tom Fulk at square leg. It was Tidey’s day, as he registered his 40th League wicket of the season, potentially making him a contender for leading Herts League wicket taker for the season. The visitors eventually surrendered their final wicket after 51.2 overs with the score on 135, which was potentially defendable, despite the wicket drying throughout the afternoon.

Reed’s reply began in its usual vigorous manner as Baz Curtis cashed in on a couple of early over pitched deliveries from Old Albanian’s overseas Australian player, but the visitors soon made early inroads into the Reed line-up, as Chris Jackson, James Heslam and Tom Fulk all fell cheaply. Curtis was unperturbed by the floundering support and the responsive wicket as he notched up a magnificent 82, marked by some exquisite drives, one of which sailed for a lengthy 6 over the sight screen. The middle order of Stuart Smith, Richard Jerome and Simon Jackson supported Curtis well, as he led Reed to victory in 39.3 overs.

Simon Jackson, 1XI skipper and Club Captain was again delighted with his team?s performance: “Baz and Pete performed out of their skins today, and really brought the game home for Reed. Our form has been truly electric over the past month or so. I feel our top order have been unlucky and would like to move up a gear, but the pitches have been quite challenging over the past fortnight with very bowler friendly conditions.”